Last week, we received news that Valve was increasing the price of the Steam Deck.  Once a well-priced product, the Steam Deck now sits amongst so many other contenders.  

The Steam Deck’s main advantage in this pack is its operating system.  Having used Windows on a small handheld gaming device, I can tell you that Windows is a long way from optimised, and just as far from a decent user experience.  Many of the games do not translate well to a Windows handheld because of their controls, and that is where SteamOS has a big advantage. There were actually some games that wouldn’t launch on the Legion Go S on Windows—may as well install SteamOS, right?

Luckily, the Steam Deck is not the only device that can run SteamOS efficiently and effectively.  The Lenovo Legion Go S will run it, and run it well.  Lenovo actually sell a version that comes preloaded with SteamOS, but in Australia that seems very hard to get your hands on one.

In fact, there is currently beta SteamOS support for the Legion Go, the ROG Ally, the ROG Ally X and ‘other AMD-powered handhelds.’  At the moment, the only non-beta support is the Legion Go S (and the Steam Deck obviously), but it undoubtedly won’t be long before full support arrives for more devices. 

Lenovo are so much on board with you running SteamOS on its Legion Go S, that they will actually provide you with official instructions on how to install it.  Unfortunately, these instructions are a bit out of date now and actually do not work.  How do I know?  I bought a Legion Go S after reviewing it earlier this year and installed SteamOS myself, and the links in the Lenovo instructions did not work.

Disclaimer: if you perform this and stuff it up, it’s on you.  Follow the instructions you find online, and you should be fine, but be careful and be aware that it may stuff up your device or void its warranty.  I’m not 100% sure of the warranty voiding, given that Lenovo has the instructions on its website so you are hardly performing non-sanctioned tasks on it.

For the most basic of installs, you can easily follow any instructions you will find online, or the ones from Lenovo – after you have downloaded the SteamOS image file from the Steam website.

This install though, will result in the touchpad – the world’s smallest touchpad – on the Legion Go S not working in Steam OS.  This is not a massive issue.  Even though the review unit I received from Lenovo running SteamOS had a non-functioning touchpad most likely due to this, it did not affect my gaming experience.

I’m a tinkerer, and can’t stand not having a device work fully as intended.  I was therefore not happy with a device that was not fully functioning, so I found a website that had everything.

The team at Retrohandhelds.gg has not only great written instructions but also a video showing how to do it.  The extra step required for full functionality was to determine the trackpad’s manufacturer and updating its firmware.  From there, the installation was simple – as Lenovo instructs.

  • Download portable Rufus
  • Download the SteamOS recovery image and install it onto a USB using Rufus
  • Boot into the bios of the Lenovo Legion Go S and disable Secure Boot
  • Plug in the USB with SteamOS on it and boot from USB
  • Click “Wipe device and install SteamOS”
  • Update controller firmware

What’s better with SteamOS?

Games simply run better, faster, and more smoothly on SteamOS.  Windows just doesn’t compare. 

SteamOS gives you more control over your battery performance, allowing you to balance performance and battery life.  

I can still run desktop-type programs in the Linux environment – simply install as you would any Linux program.  There are many websites with recommendations on what you can and should do to improve your ‘Steam Deck’ experience.  Windows Central has a good list, along with how to install and set them up.

In the Linux environment, you install all your other add-ons, whether it’s plugins to help SteamOS run better, jump through different hoops, or add functionality – all community-made.

I have several retro gaming consoles and devices, but changes in technology mean I can’t readily play my extensive library easily anymore. Now I can. 

There’s a vast array of sources to find the ROMs for your legally owned games – and it’s always good to go from the latest PGA Tour 2K25 on Steam to playing games from yesteryear. 

In the end, I have a Lenovo Legion Go S with a larger screen than the Steam Deck (although the Steam Deck has a nicer OLED), more premium controls, adjustable mechanical triggers, and a more streamlined handheld gaming experience.  Personally, I also managed to find and purchase the Legion Go S with the upgraded RAM, SSD and chipset.

With the Steam Deck price increasing considerably, there are other options, one being the Lenovo Legion Go S, and if you can’t find one running SteamOS at an affordable price, the option to install SteamOS onto one yourself is simply too easy to pass up.